Tag Archives: check

In order to make that story linger in the memory of the reader—which will make them yearn for your next book—your characters must not only have differences but they might be irreconcilable. Certainly two people in love and having those kinds of problems ache inside. You as the writer must ache with them. You must write that story so that you feel all the pain. If you do not feel the pain, you have not presented a plausible enough reason to keep these two people apart. More importantly, you probably haven’t written convincingly enough for your reader if you cannot convince yourself.
If you can write so that you ache for your characters, then can come up with a solution that alleviates your own pain, your reader will feel that same duress and subsequent relief for your characters. You will have raked the reader’s emotions over fiction’s fire, presented a viable solution, and enticed your reader to remember your byline. Read More →

When you write your first draft, perhaps you simply write whatever comes out just to get the ideas onto the page. You know you’ll go back time and time again to get it polished just right. Maybe you polish your sentences or paragraphs before going onto the next one. Then, after all your editing, you feel something is still lacking. Maybe it’s the way you phrase the action. Maybe it’s a simple matter like your choice of words.

To help you make your prose as descriptive as possible without sounding flowery, read your composition again and look for specific words that could be replaced with descriptive VERBS that zero in on the exact action taking place.

I’m no stranger to getting the first word out that comes to mind and then needing to go back and clean up my grammar. Here are some samples from the novel I’m presently writing. I first wrote this:

Afterward, she went on her way.

If you write a sentence like this, ask yourself, How did she go? Instead of went describe her movements or gait:

Afterward, she sauntered away.

Afterward, she slipped away

Read this phrase:

Danced across the floor

Danced is a descriptive word, but it’s also a little common and could refer to many, many ways of dancing. How about…

Did a two-step across the floor

Waltzed across the floor

And this:

She felt around the floor of the car, trying to find the cell phone

Felt is also quite common.

She groped around the seat and on the floor of the car…

She slid her hand between the seats

Although a lot of emotion can be stirred just reading certain words they, too, can be made more descriptive. Replace this:

The thought of dying came to mind.

…with something like this:

The thought of bleeding to death came to mind

The thought of succumbing to coma, never to wake again, came to mind.

The above has two words to watch. We could have used:

The thought of slipping into a coma… instead, succumbing is more dramatic than gently slipping into a coma. Slipping hints at the character gently fading. Succumbing tells us she would put up a gallant fight to stay alive until, perhaps, more powerful forces overtook her. It’s more dramatic.

Here’s another sentence with two words:

The fireman holding up her head managed to get his upper body through the open windshield space.

More exciting:

The fireman supporting her head managed to squeeze his upper body through the open windshield space.

All of the words replaced above, and many, many more, are common words. The actions need to be exactly defined, made more exciting with better, more descriptive verbs and adverbs if your grammar is to stand out.

Your prose must sing and dance off the page. Anytime you describe what a character does, always check to see if a more descriptive word might apply. Using words that better show the exact actions that your character performs helps your reader become the character. That’s exactly what great prose does.

Please visit Mary Deal’s website for more wonderful articles like this one: Write Any Genre. Read More →

MA: Please welcome my guest today, author Debra Chapoton. Debra spent over 30 years teaching English and Spanish. She began writing fiction before retiring and now has 6 books published. She is currently working on a non-fiction project as well as another young adult fiction book. So, Debra, how did you get involved with writing?

DC: I have always been an enthusiastic reader and a lover of words. My profession of teaching grammar, writing and language skills in two languages was the perfect background for easing into a post-retirement career of writing.
MA: What made you want to write novels in particular?
DC: I love to tell stories that kids and adults would enjoy. I want to leave a legacy.
MA: Tell me about your stories.
DC: After writing a children’s series of adventure and fantasy books I tried my hand at writing a thriller: Edge of Escape. Emotionally impaired yet clever, Eddie obsesses over pretty Rebecca. He drugs her, abducts her and locks her away. She escapes, but that is part of his plan as he pretends to be her knight in shining armor. Will she accept his special devotion or reject his fragile love? Stalking gets a sympathetic twist in this story of fixation and fear.

MA: How did you develop your protagonists?
DC: Most of my characters, probably all, are based on people I know. The protagonist was easy to develop since the former students I modeled the main characters after were fresh in my mind; I had just had them in class for two semesters.
MA: What are your heroes’ strengths and weaknesses?
DC: First, it’s up to the reader to decide who the hero is, so I don’t want to slant things . . . but the character who is my personal favorite is idealistic but naïve.
MA: What about an antagonist…is there a unique “bad guy” or a recurring nemesis of any kind?
DC: Again, the reader has to decide who the antagonist is. For me the worst character is actually Eddie’s mother, who shaped his pathetic life in a most pitiable way.
MA: What projects are you going to work on next?
DC: I plan on writing more children’s novels and I currently have another general fiction novel a third of the way finished. I also have a non-fiction project ready for publication this summer. It is based on a year-long Bible study that I taught.
MA: Will you continue to feature the same protagonist in future stories? Will any other characters migrate over to future books?
DC: The characters in my children’s books will appear again, but my adult and young adult characters are specific to each book.
MA: Thanks, Debra, for visiting with me today. Folks: check out Debra’s blog here: http://www.edgeofescape.blogspot.comRead More →

I am currently looking for authors who would like to guest-blog on my website (www.mikeangley.com). This is a great opportunity to get some additional exposure and promote your writing (my site gets very good traffic). Please check out my “Bloggy” News section for some past interviews to get a sense of how these come out.
Although I am a thriller writer myself, I am open to all fiction writers. I’ve hosted mystery, young adult, fantasy, historical, and thriller writers in the past and it has worked out well. If you have already appeared on my website, you are welcome to come back for a return visit (especially if you have a new release pending).
I schedule posts on a first come, first served basis. If you have a release you want to time the interview for, please let me know that so I can work with you to get it posted to maximize your exposure. If you are interested, please email me at: mike_angley@msn.com. I will send you some standard questions I use to craft the interviews, and we’ll go from there!
Cheers!
Mike Angley Read More →

Visiting the Child Finder Trilogy today is author Mark W. Danielson. Mark grew up in El Cerrito, California, overlooking San Francisco Bay. He received his BA degree from the University of Northern Colorado and earned his MA from Webster University while serving as a Navy pilot. He currently travels the globe as an MD-11 captain for Federal Express. Mr. Danielson has published over 100 non-fiction articles in various periodicals since 1978. Diablo’s Shadow is his third reality-based suspense novel, following The Innocent Never Knew, and Danger Within. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, he has participated in numerous author events, including the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Men of Mystery, Barnes and Noble Mystery Author’s Night, Cutting Edge Murder, Hi-Jinks on the High Seas, and Kids Love a Mystery. His interests include hiking, fine arts, tennis, and restoring cars and boats. His varied experience and travel is evident in his writing. He and his wife live in Denver, Colorado, not far up the road from me! Read More →

We used to have an English Cocker, Shanna, who passed on in 2004 while we were stationed in Okinawa, Japan. We had had her for over 16 years, so she had a great life and got to see the world (two times in Japan!). It took us awhile to get our heads into the idea of a new dog, but a couple years back, our daughter Meghan (13 at the time) had been pining for a beagle puppy. I started looking via the Internet but found it very difficult to find beagle puppies in Colorado Springs. I even checked the neighboring states for breeders! We got lucky one day when I read a good old fashioned print newspaper and saw an ad from a breeder in Pueblo. She had a new litter ready for adoption. We made the drive and our kids fell in love with Brynn instantly. The rest is history! Read More →

Don’t let his appearance fool you: in spite of his baby-face, Mike Angley is a serious adult. He spent 25 years in the U.S. Air Force as a Special Agent with the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) and not at a desk job, either. He also spent significant time in the Middle East, Japan, and South Korea neutralizing terrorist threats against the U.S. and other countries, as well as preventing theft of U.S. technology. Read More →

I’m honored to have been invited as a guest-blogger on the Writing Mommies blog. The site is run by four great ladies: Angela Atkinson, Alyssa Ast, Kat Foust, and Kerrie McLoughlin…all stay-at-home moms and writers. It was a nice to share my experiences about writing, life, and my USAF career with them and their readers. Read More →